A small delegation of German soldiers from the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth honored German soldiers who died during captivity in World War II at Fort Riley.

"They died as prisoners of war in captivity in the United States ," said Col. Michael Oberneyer, the German liaison officer to the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center. "They died as foreign soldiers thousands of miles from home. They are not forgotten. It's our obligation to pay our respect to them, especially when their families are not able to do it."

The seven-minute ceremony at the Fort Riley cemetery included a 21-gun salute by seven members of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division. A U.S. Army bugler played a German memorial song.

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Lt. Col. Nikolas Carstens, left, and Lt. Col. Christian Nawrat place a wreath for German POWs who died at Fort Riley during World War II.

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The graves of German and Italian POWs who died at Fort Riley in WWII make up one part of the cemetery. On Friday, the German grave sites were decorated with small German flags.

The ceremony originally was intended to recognize Italian POWs as well, but a delegation representing Italy was unable to attend.

The German soldiers kept as POWs at Fort Riley six decades ago worked on the post and nearby farms. Each fall, a delegation of German officers and noncommissioned officers attending school at the Combined Arms Center visits the post to honor the soldiers buried at Fort Riley.

"Every November, people all over Europe celebrate Memorial Day," Oberneyer said. "(It is) the day people mourn their comrades in arms and those men, women and children of our nations who perished as a result of past wars. This day is a day of remembrance, a day of reconciliations, a day of peace and human dignity."

Oberneyer noted that the German soldiers buried at Fort Riley were part of about 60 million people who were killed during WWII.

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Spc. Andrew Spinazzola, of the 1st Infantry Division Band at Fort Riley, plays Friday in honor of the German POWs.

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He said a delegation of German soldiers recently participated in a Veterans Day celebration in Leavenworth. While many American soldiers have died defending freedom and human dignity, he said, that wasn't the case of German soldiers in WWII. Oberneyer called Germany's goals in WWII "unacceptable."

"Even 61 years after the end of World War II, its victims still remind us that we are responsible for our history," he said. "This is especially true for Germany, and I believe we have learned this lesson. In this case, our comrades here did not die in vain. Their graves here at Fort Riley remind us that life and peace and dignity may have a high price."

Two wreaths were laid during the ceremony, one by the delegation and one by the German-American Club of Junction City.

Anna R. Staatz is a freelance writer in Herington. She can be reached at staatz26@yahoo.com.